


I Know You Will

by xswestallen



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-03-21 23:03:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13751061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xswestallen/pseuds/xswestallen
Summary: Iris from season 4 travels back in time and meets Barry from season 1.Set in between 1x02 and 1x03.





	I Know You Will

Iris tried to catch her breath after moving so fast and suddenly coming to a stop. Never had she moved so fast before. Barry was running with her to Star Labs, just like every morning. While running, a meta attacked. All Iris could remember was an evil voice yelling, “Hey Flash!” and then picking up speed.

She looked around and realized she was outside Jitters. Barry was nowhere to be seen.

“Barry?” She called.

No answer.

Iris walked into Jitters. She was confused when she noticed the expresso machine behind the counter was the old one that broke down back when she was still working here. Then, she turned to look at one of the flatscreens on the wall. A news report was on. It was covering a break in at Simon Stagg’s lab. That didn’t make sense. Stagg was killed years ago. Iris walked over to the newspaper stand and picked up a copy. The date said: October 14th 2014

This was the past. Iris somehow time traveled to the past. Jitters, three years ago.

“Iris?”

She turned at the sound of Barry’s voice. He’d just walked in.

“Barry!” She was relived to see him. Until, she realized this was not the Barry she was with this morning. He was dressed differently and his haircut was slightly different. This was Barry from 2014.

He was frozen, staring at Iris with his eyebrows contorted in confusion.

“What’s wrong?” Iris asked.

“Did you cut your hair?”

Crap. Iris forgot that she had longer hair three years ago. Her hands jumped to her head as she tried to think of an explanation. She couldn’t tell him she’d cut it, because he would probably see the her from this time later in the day with long hair again.

Barry was staring at Iris, waiting for an answer.

To cover for her distraught expression and to buy herself some time, Iris said, “Do you hate it? Do I look bad?”

“No! No, not at all. I’m just surprised. You said that you would never cut your hair short.”

“Well, the impossible could happen.” Iris was stalling the best she could. She decided to go with the only excuse she could think of, lame as it was. “I was just thinking about cutting it so I pinned it up to look like I cut it. You know, see how it would look before I make the big decision.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Phew. He believed it. Iris was in the clear. She let herself relax a little and walked up to the counter with Barry.

“Let’s order.” Iris said, hoping Barry wouldn’t look too closely at her hair and notice the lack of bobby pins.

“Are you working today?”

“Uh- No. I’m off.” Iris said, hoping she was right. It would be awkward if Barry came back later and saw her from the past working.

They ordered their coffee and sat down.

“Are you ok?” Barry asked, still looking at Iris peculiarly. “You seem…. nervous. That’s not like you.”

“I’m fine. Just uhhh- a little shaken up.”

“That’s normal after you experience something traumatic like an armed robbery.” Barry held her hands and griped them tight. “It’s ok though. You’re safe now.” He assured her.

Looking at his face, Iris felt overwhelmed with her love for him. She smiled. Even though just three years have past, this time felt like a century ago. Barry looked younger, freer. He hadn’t face The Reverse-Flash yet. Or Zoom, or Savitar, or Devoe. He just got his powers and was learning how to be a hero. But to Iris, Barry was always a hero, because of moments like this.

Barry looked at Iris with the same intensity she gave him. He opened his mouth, then closed it a moment later, apparently deciding against saying whatever he was about to say.

Iris had a feelings she knew what it was. She swirled her thumb over the back of his hand. “Are you doing ok, Bear?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “I’m fine. I just hadn’t eaten much the other day and that’s why I passed out.”

Iris remembered Barry passing out at Simon Stagg’s award ceremony. In hindsight, she wondered is he actually passed out or if it was a lie to cover for him using his powers. 

“No, I don’t mean about you passing out. I mean, besides that? You seem stressed.”

Barry wasn’t a good liar. Ok, maybe he was. He got away with lying for months. But, now that Iris knew he was lying, she could catch all the tell tale signs. Barry blinked a little faster than usual. The tops of his ears went a faint shade of pink. And the most obvious sign, his determined head shake. “I’m fine.”

Iris smirked. “Really?”

Just like that, Barry cracked. He let out a sigh and released her hands so that he could rub the back of his neck. “Things have just been moving fast lately.”

Nice pun, Iris thought. She snorted a laugh.

“It’s mainly work stuff.” Barry said. Iris knew it was a cover for Flash stuff. “There’s so many people who need help and I just want to help them. But, I keep worrying that I’m not going to be good enough.”

“You’re a great CSI.” Iris told him, playing along.

He smiled for a second before resuming his anxiety. “These people need a hero. And, I’m not much of a hero.”

Iris had no idea Barry struggled with so much self doubt after he got his powers. He stared down at his coffee. Behind his eyes, Iris feared he might be contemplated giving up being The Flash. She panicked, because whatever she said next could effect the future.

Thankfully, Iris was spared coming up with a response that would ensure the timeline stays in tact when Barry changed the subject. “Gotten any comments on your blog?”

At first, Iris was confused. Then, she remembered. The blog. “Oh yeah!” She laughed. “Quite a few, actually. People are really interested in the f-Streak.” She almost slipped.

Barry rolled his eyes.

“He’s saving lives. The security guard from Simon Stagg’s award ceremony said that just as he was about to be shot, he was whooshed to the stairwell. And after a fire, a woman said her daughter, who was trapped inside, just suddenly appeared outside the burning building, perfectly safe.”

Barry shook his head.

Iris leaned in and whispered, “He’s the hero these people need.”

Barry looked somberly at Iris. Her heart was breaking as it always did when Barry didn’t recognize how amazing he was. She put a hand on his shoulder. “I really like The Streak. But, you know what though?”

He just widened his eyes, waiting for her answer.

“I like you a lot more.” Iris said. Her hand slid down his arm. She took his hands and squeezed them. “A red blur and a gust of wind are nothing compared to a good heart like yours. All you’ve ever wanted to do is help people. And no matter what obstacles you face, you never strop trying to help. You are a hero, Barry Allen.”

Barry’s lips parted ever so slightly. His eyes were misty.

“At least,” Iris added. “You are to me.”

When Barry spoke, his voice cracked. He was trying not to cry. “There is a lot of bad stuff out there. What if I can’t fight it?”

“You can. And you’ll win.”

“How can you be so sure?” Barry wondered.

“Because I’ve known you’re a hero since we were little kids.”

“That’s because you’re you, Iris. You’re special. We’re- we’re best friends. To everyone else, I’ll never be a hero.”

Iris cupped Barry’s face and looked him dead in the eye. “I know you will.”

Barry stared for a second before accepting her confidence. He nodded.

“I believe in you, Barry. I always have and I always will.” Iris promised.

Barry’s gaze flickered to her lips and back. She really wanted to kiss him. But, that would totally disrupt the timeline.

Suddenly, Iris was standing in the middle of the coffee shop, with Barry embracing her. The world around them was frozen still. Barry and Iris were moving so fast, nobody could see them.

“Iris, are you ok?” Barry asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I somehow ended up here, in the past.”

“We got attacked while I was running. I tried to bring you to Jitters to keep you safe, but I guess I went too fast and ran you to the past.” Barry explained.

“I figured.”

“Ok, let’s get back to our time.”

Iris looked over at the Barry from three years ago. “I have to say goodbye to the old you. He’ll know something is weird if I suddenly vanish into thin air.”

“Ok.” Barry said. “I’ll wait for you outside.”

In a nanosecond, Iris was sitting across from the Barry from three years ago. The world around her resumed it’s movement.

“I gotta go, Bear. There’s some homework I need to get done.” Iris said.

Barry looked crestfallen.

“But ummm- I’ll see you later today. Hey, maybe we can go see a movie together tonight?” Iris offered. “There’s a zombie one out. You love zombie movies.”

Barry perked up. “That sounds great.”

“Perfect.”

Iris got up and went outside to meet the Barry from her time.

“Hey, did everything go ok with him? You have to be careful not to do anything that might alter the time-”

Iris cut him off. She lunged into his arms and kissed him. Barry reciprocated enthusiastically, sliding his tongue into her mouth and skating his hands over body.

“I love you.” Iris purred.

“I love you.”

“I love you so much!”

“I love you so much!” Barry laughed. “Not that I don’t love it, but why are you feeling so affection right now?”

Iris shrugged. “Just, making up for lost time.”

“Well, come on. I still have this meta to take care in the present. He looked tough, I hope I can stop him.”

Iris smiled. “I know you will.”


End file.
